Noon

Noon Winery is a small, family-owned winery in McLaren Vale producing earth-shattering red wines! Drew and his wife Raegan – gentle, considered people – took over the family winery in 1996. Their quiet respect for the land they nurture and the vines they tend is reflected in their winemaking style; gloriously powerful wines with minimal processing.

The property has 4.2ha of estate-grown bush vine Grenache vineyards planted in 1934 and 1999 (the Winery and Almond Blocks) and 1943 (BJ’s Block), with plantings in 1999 of a further 1.6ha, mostly Graciano. The Shiraz and Cabernet vineyards are grower owned by friends, the Borrett Family, in Langhorne Creek – tiny vineyards planted in 1962 and 1972 respectively. Production at Noon is only 3000 cases (in a good year) mostly sold to their loyal Australian customers. For most of the year, their cellar door sports a sign simply stating “Sorry, we have sold out of wine. Cellar door will reopen next November”!

Drew Noon has taken on winemaking responsibilities at Noon since 1996 – the Noon website proudly proclaims that their handmade wines are only made by Noon family hands!

What first made you interested in winemaking?

I grew up on our vineyard property and when dad began making wine in the 1970s I was hooked from the start!

What was the most memorable bottle you’ve drunk? Where and when did you drink it?

Strangely, one of the most memorable was a ‘bocksbeutel’ of Riesling from Würzburg, Germany, sitting in our camper van in a nearby park. It was in 2000. The purity and balance was a revelation and the price for the quality was amazing!

If you could choose another wine region in the world to open a winery, where would it be and why?

Sonoma, California because it reminds me of here!

If you weren’t a winemaker, what would you be?

A cheese maker perhaps or a brewer? I find it hard to imagine anything else.

What is your favourite place in the winery/vineyards and why?

In the barrel cellar – it’s uplifting to be surrounded by the stock of maturing wine – or in our Winery Block Grenache vineyard – because it’s peaceful and it’s inspiring and humbling to work with these old vines that were planted well before I was born.